Norvic Philatelics - GB New Stamps and Special Postmarks

Ernest Shackleton and the Endurance - 7 January 2016

Described
as ‘The Greatest Survival Story of All Time’ by Sir Edmund
Hillary, the Imperial Trans-Antarctic
Expedition led by Ernest Shackleton is regarded as the last of
the heroic expeditions of the polar regions.The
expedition was an attempt to make the first land crossing of
the Antarctic continent.

The Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition sailed from Plymouth
in August 1914, just before the start of the first world
war. By January 1915 the Endurance
was trapped in icen , and the crew's fight for survival
continued for 16 months.

Endurance became beset in the ice of the Weddell Sea before reaching
Vahsel Bay, and despite efforts to free it, drifted northward, held in the
pack ice, throughout the Antarctic winter of 1915. Eventually the ship was
crushed and sank, stranding its 28-man complement on the ice. After months
spent in makeshift camps as the ice continued its northwards drift, the
party took to the lifeboats to reach the inhospitable, uninhabited Elephant
Island. Shackleton and five others then made an 800-mile (1,287 km)
open-boat journey in the to reach South Georgia using a Thomas Mercer
chronometer.

From there, Shackleton was eventually able to mount a rescue of the men
waiting on Elephant Island and bring them home without loss of life. On the
other side of the continent, the Ross Sea party overcame great hardships to
fulfil its mission. Aurora was blown from her moorings during a gale
and was unable to return, leaving the shore party marooned without proper
supplies or equipment. Nevertheless, the depots were laid, but three lives
were lost in the process.

Technical details and details of background images:

The stamps were designed by Robert Maude and Sarah Dsvies and are printed
by International Security Printers in lithography. The 37 x 35 mm
stamps are perf 14 x 14.5 in sheets of 30/60 in se-tenant pairs.

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